I started a pressure washing business in Houston TX (www,QualityPressureWashingofHouston.com) last year and have successfully added fence staining, hanging Christmas lights and graffiti cleaning. I am now going to add window washing. I have spent several days on this and other blogs and would like to go over what equipment I am considering and get some input from some pros. I have a number of Property Management Companies as customers and they all manage commercial buildings, townhomes and apartments. So far I have not done any work on buildings that are over 3 stories. Based on that I am looking at a Wash it Pro along with a Reach it Mini with extensions to reach 3 stories. From all I can tell, that should enable me to handle the vast majority of residential homes and commercial buildings up to 3 stories. Some questions I have are: On residential homes how big of an issue are screens? From what I read, they mist all be taken off, numbered, cleaned and re-installed. Is this included in the quote or is it an add-on? If so, how much? I would like to stay with the cleaning only the exterior windows. Will I lose business if I don’t clean the interior? When pressure washing many times the customer gives us a credit card number in advance or leaves a check somewhere and they aren’t there when we do the work. We couldn’t do the interior windows if the customer isn’t home. I’m sure I will have many more questions as I keep reading but this will get me started. If there is someone in the window cleaning business that would spend some time with me on the phone, that would be great.
Thanks,
Robbie Miller
832-792-5420
Almost all of my clients want interior AND exterior windows done. Not many just want outsides done.
Screens should be part of how you price. A dirty screen will make a window dirty, faster. I just brush screens and frames, but a lot of guys have a screen washer.
You’ll have to pull the screens out anyway, so you might as well clean them while you are there.
A water fed pole will not fix all window problems. You will also need to know how to clean traditional, and know when that is the appropriate action for the situation.
I add $1 for a simple wipe of the screen frame and $3 for a complete clean.
I just drove around a neighborhood of homes that are around $500.000+ looking for screens and most of the homes did not have screens but some had screens on a few windows. Do most screens have to taken down from the outside or do you remove then from the inside? If you take them down from the outside, that means you climb up a ladder, remove the sceeen, climb down the ladder and clean it and them re install it and you don’t charge any more for that than just cleaning the window? That seems like you would spend more time with the screen than cleaning the window.
We did a power washing job where we cleaned a driveway and patio for $250 and our customer told us he had a window washing company coming tomorrow to clean all his windows, inside and out. He has solar screens screwed into his window frames and they are going to remove all the solar screens and clean them, all for $160. Does this seem like a normal price? If so, I may look for another service to add to my pressure washing business.
Just cuz you drive by and dont see a screen doesn’t mean its not there. So many windows with inside screens.
I have never came across screens that pulled from the outside only. All screens I have ever delt with either pull from the inside with the window open (and pull them back through into the inside) OR they are on the inside, before the glass.
IF you are pulling screens from the outside, you will pull the screen, brush it, wash the window, and install the screen back in, all where you are on the ladder. No up and down.
freemind, not having been in the window cleaning business I’ve never seen a screen on the inside of a window. Doesn’t that make it difficult to open the window? AS far as removing the screen for the ladder, With a WFP system so the only reason I would have to be on a ladder is to remove the screen.
Skipper, I’ll have pictures tomorrow but from what I understand it is about a $250,000 home with an estimated 16 windows, each with a screwed on solar screen. To me it seems like that is going to take 2 1/2 -3 hours. When we are power washing, we use a 2 man crew but we try and bill around $150 --$200 hr. I guess one thing I’m not considering is the repeat business aspect. With pressure washing our work should last for several years, with window cleaning you can get customers on a 3 or 4 time a year contract.
Screens before the window are on crank out windows. Not slider windows.
Yes, then that would be two trips on a ladder for the screens that remove from the outside, using a WFP, unfortunately.
To be honest, I don’t know how often you’ll even come across that particular type of screen. I’ve yet to see that type, after three years in business.
Skipper has a solid point here. Window cleaning is not your average add-on service. It takes time and practice to develop the skill yourself and is much more difficult to train employees on than pressure washing.
To give my two cents, if you would like to add money to your tickets, growing your revenue with existing clientel, focus on your commercial customers first. The set up you are looking at would be great for most light-commercial applications and there is more margin for error with commercial work. Hone your skills there. Residential is quite frankly a PITA. I love doing it to provide a quality service to our customers but it isn’t something you will be able to shine in overnight. There are fifty billion different window types, each with their own set of nuances. It takes time and practice to figure out how to clean them efficiently. If you start adding the service immediately, you will risk tarnishing your reputation (if you have done a good job of building it to this point). Residential customers are also usually more budget conscious. Pressure washing just has a higher hourly rate than window cleaning, even when you’re fast and efficient. I think you’ll be disappointed when you add $200 bucks to a $300 pressure washing job and the $200 takes twice as long to earn as the first $300. That makes it harder to make money when using employees.
I think a lot of guys try to add way too many services too early when building their business. We see a complementary service that is within our scope and say “Hey, we should do that too” I think Chris Lambrinides said that if he could do it all over, he would pick one service and focus on that exclusively and be the best. I believe he said exterior window cleaning.
I’m driving to Gainesville tomorrow and will have some time to kill, I’ll give you a call in the morning and would be happy to answer any questions I can. Oh, and $160 to clean all those windows and remove screens sounds crazy cheap to me, but that may be what your market supports. Could just be a super cheap guy though.
That’s stupid cheap even in Houston. Skip that house’s Windows.
I agree. I went out to the house to look at it and he had 15 windows, all with solar screens. The big ones (4x6) had one screw on each side the rest just popped out. I did talk to the owner about the price and he said he was surprised it was that cheap. He said he would have no problem paying $250 once a year to have it done. He was very disappointed with the job so once I get started I may go back and talk to him again.
I don’t think it’s a very complex business though. Anyone can start a business if they invest time and brain properly.
@PristineBrandon really nice logo, quite self explanatory. Off topic but I was looking at a logo thread just before bouncing to this thread and the logo just caught my eye.
I have tried this in my pressure washing business and believe me it’s harder than it looks. Let me give you some useful advice. Water fed is a great tool but in my experience it doesn’t get every speck even using a boar brush. In direct sunlight the light will reveal every speck. Hard water stain is another common problem that already pre exists from sprinklers. Windows are by far harder to do than pressure washing because of the skill and attention to detail. If you take the screens off you will likely need a ladder and thus defeats the speed of a wfp might as well use a squeegee or let the customer know to take out the screens before the service. I use the Aztec screen washer and it is fantastic. Wfp is a great tool and it has its place but it can’t get it as perfect as a skilled squeegee window cleaner. Having a pure water tank with a pump is the best way to go- just in case you encounter really low pressure or really high tds at a job. I have decided to drop window cleaning inside and out for now because I am not skilled enough. I will still use the wfp but will let the customer know it may not be perfect but is cheaper. I may hire an expert window cleaner in the future if there is a demand. Good luck! And FYI having a drip or two isn’t ideal but seems to be an accepted practice at least at a few big commercial clients I have seen
Is pressure washing hard to learn compared to windows? A handful of my clients ask me if I also do pressure washing and I’m tired of saying “I’m thinking of adding it soon…”
pressure washing requires no skill, its easy to learn just common sense really, its just a costly initial set up.
No skill? Sounds perfect for me. 
My old man has a 2800ish PSI PW, I think it’s gas… not sure. He rarely uses it so wants me to put it work.
